This application claims the benefit of and priority to U.S. Application Ser. No. 61/369,441, filed Jul. 30, 2010, which application is incorporated by reference in its entirety.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to inflators and particularly to a double point indicating auto/manual gas inflator.
2. Background of the Invention
U.S. Coast Guard regulations require that gas inflators provide a status indicator for the gas cylinder attached to the inflator and which provide information to the user as to whether the inflator device is correctly armed. A Code 2F inflator is an automatic or manually activated inflator. Coast Guard regulations require that the inflator provide status indication for the cylinder seal indication and the readiness of the automatic activation portion of the inflator. When completely rearmed all indicators should simultaneously inform the user of the favorable condition of the inflator. Typically two states are provided for showing the status, either operable or spent. Typically a green color indicates that the cylinder is full and operable or the automatic activation portion is ready and operable. A red color indicates that the cylinder has been spent or that the automatic activation portion is not ready for use. The present invention provides a manual/automatic gas inflator that provides status information for both the cylinder and the automatic activation portion.